***One part War, two parts Santana, a dash of Motown, immersed in a rich Puerto Rican stock, LOS NOMBRES were the undisputed kings of Northern Ohio’s rust-belt barrios. Following successive explosions of brown-eyed and latin soul in Los Angeles and New York in the mid and late ‘60s, Lorain, Ohio’s Boricua underdogs went on a recording tear in nearby Cleveland, going all-in on a series of no-budget recordings at Boddie and Way Out. With a voice that rivaled any on the Fania roster, WILLIE MARQUEZ led the roating cast of Latino teens thorugh numerous underfunded recording sessions for the Day-Wood, Beth and Lorain Sounds imprints, the lo-fi fruits of which are compiled here. (STREET DATE - 1/17/2012)
LP $18.60
01/17/2012
CD $14.00
01/17/2012
***Blinded by neon, addicted to gambling, and choking on Rat Pack fur, Las Vegas's casino scene is where jazz went to die. But in the early ‘70s, SPIRIT FREE dared to buck the trends of the big band and lounge acts, jamming in the garages of their suburban ranch homes after their day jobs, conjuring Egyptian modes under the hot desert sun, and toying with exotic sounds like distorted sax, electric keyboards, and wah-wah pedals. Unconcerned with the crooners and standards dominating the strip, Spirit Free was blasting into the cosmos providing an early prophecy of the jazz fusion movement that would come to prominence in the latter half of the ‘70s. At long last, Spirit Free Plays Starship has been freed from the shifting sands of the Mojave, remastered from the original tapes and available on CD for the first time, with three previously unreleased tracks.
CD $14.00
11/08/2011